Text Me When the Bus Is Here

iPhone and Blackberry owners might have access to all kinds of sexy apps for their phones, but there are millions of people using more run-of-the-mill cell phones. Smart developers like Roadify know that, and they're busy creating clever, useful programs that work on any phone with text messaging abilities.

You may have seen Roadify's previous app ParkingAroundMe (PAM) talked about previously on Housing Watch. In short, ParkingAroundMe is a way for people to find and share available parking spaces via their cell phones.Roadify's newest endeavor -- BusesAroundMe (BAM) -- works the same way and utilizes their StreetCARma philosophy: to receive alerts, you need points. Earning points is as simple as sending in updates via text message or Twitter.To get started, just text "BAM" to 95495 (Roadify's shortcode) and you're good to go. BAM is currently being tested in New York's Park Slope neighborhood using the B67 bus route with other routes to be added based on user voting. To keep other users in the loop, riders can 'give' the B67's current location to 95495 by using the nearest crossing streets. If you're looking for an ETA, Roadify uses that data to text you updates -- so you won't be standing out in the cold or waiting forever for a bus held up in traffic.

Does the give-and-get concept work? Have a look at the map from Roadify's homepage to see what a little CARma can do:

That's a veritable forest of flags, and each one is a parking spot submitted by a Roadify ParkingAroundMe user. It's easy to see the potential for both PAM and BAM -- and both will become even more useful as their popularity grows.